After last week’s debut of The Muppets on ABC, it seems like moms everywhere took to social media to pronounce The Muppets as “distasteful and unsafe for children”. The outcry against the Muppets seems somewhat justified as The Muppet show of yester and the Muppet films have been generally kid friendly. I totally get where these critics are coming from but as I watched the Muppets play out on my television, I saw jokes aimed for family audiences and a few adult jokes that would clearly fly over children’s heads.

We also live in an age where animation is used for both children and adults. Looking at a show title for Family Guy vs. Gravity Falls, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference and you may let your children watch both. We also live in an age where hardly anything is G rated. Most television shows fall into that PG to PG-14 rating. It’s what sells and television is still in the business of making money.

The Muppets had to change and that’s just a fact. Putting the same Kermit and friends on television that we’ve seen for almost 50 years now wouldn’t do the Henson creatures any favors. I like that Kermit and Piggy have broken up. I like that we are seeing another side to these characters. All of us aren’t pure, do-gooders of the world. We all make mistakes, cave in to vices, have jealousy, or make poor decisions, but we all want to be the best people we can be. To me, that’s what the show is trying to showcase. A group of people (or frogs, pigs, and whatevers) trying to live life the best they can. This isn’t the stage show variety hour we all grew up watching. This was meant to be that behind the scenes showcase where we don’t necessarily get characters that put on smiles and fake it for the camera.

The Muppets continue to do what they do best and that’s make people happy. I can’t help but feel all warm and fuzzy seeing these pieces of felt and fur on tv again and you can tell that the guest celebrities they’ve brought to the show are delighted to be a part of it. Sure we went from G to PG and some of our characters aren’t in the roles we’ve come to know over the decades, but this fresh take is still purely Jim Henson and still feels like The Muppets. I believe that Jim would enjoy this show and would want to push his characters in bold new directions making sure everyone could come along for the ride and laugh the whole way there.

What do you think of the new Muppet show? Do you love it or hate it? What would you change if you could? Keep the conversation rolling in the comments below!

The Muppets have been a recognizable entity for decades despite their on-again off-again presence. Like Mickey Mouse, the cast of the Muppets have seen their good times and bad as far as stardom. Mickey was at an all time high during the 1930s but as Walt made way for other ventures, Mickey was put on the shelf and was merely setup to the emblem of the company, but not really seen in theaters or television anymore, until the 1980s when Mickey’s Christmas Carol became a hit with families. The same can be said with The Muppets. Despite sporadic appearances, the new millennium had not been a good one for the furry creatures. It wasn’t until Jason Segel took on the part of bringing The Muppets to theaters in 2011 that the classic characters were reborn. Now with a new television show on primetime television coming this fall, I wanted to post a question to my friends on Twitter. The Muppets are loved by so many generations so I wanted to know everyone’s favorite Muppet? This is what everyone said.

@PixieDustDaily: Sam Eagle: He embodies our great American pride and at the same time pokes fun at our over-exuberance. As an adult I’ve grown to really like the Sam Eagle character as I see the humor in his overly patriotic ideals. When I was a kid I definitely thought the character was too weird and uninteresting. I was a stupid kid.

@HatboxMouse: My favorite Muppet is Fozzie Bear. He just has the best jokes! “Wacka, Wacka!” His jokes from anyone else aren’t funny but through the voice and stylings of Fozzie, they are funny. Maybe it’s that he is funny in his lack of good jokes. I’m not sure, but I’m glad to see him playing a good part in the upcoming Muppets tv show.

@NORMNB8S: This is like picking your favorite child. I wrote about Fozzie as my inner muppet for @thatsostelle once. I relate to him. He just wants to make people laugh. I’m similar in that I feel at ease when I know I can make someone laugh. It’s a feeling of relief, especially when you have a good joke, that someone really thinks its good.

@1MinDisneyDream: Thats Tough. Fozzie because he is often misunderstood and just wants people to enjoy his comedy. See my comment on the above post. I think Fozzie just wants to be a bigger part of the show but his role as stand up comedian falls short. However, he tends to be funny when he doesn’t try. My suggestion to anyone doing comedy is not to try so hard and you’ll get there.

@DizWire: I’ll throw in a token vote for Pepe the King Prawn. Pepe has been a constant favorite for me. His pride and his short fuse tend to be at odds with each other. He is always scheming and I love that about him. I’m not a fan of his recent clothing choices with gold chains and black turtle neck shirts but if he feels comfortable in that as a king prawn/shrimp, then more power to him.

@TheMouseSlap: Ratso Rizzo, he keeps it NYC real. F’getta bout it. Rizzo has been scheming long before Pepe and even though he isn’t an original Muppet, mice have always been a staple of the group. The great part for Rizzo is playing pal with Gonzo (Muppet Christmas Carol) or with Pepe (Muppetes From Space). That seems to be where he shines the most.

@TTAtraveler: I’ve always loved Beaker, always getting walked all over and just seems ready to snap. And that face. How could I forget this Muppet. Before Kenny died in every South Park episode, Beaker was getting blown up, stretched, flattened, and otherwise beat up in nearly any part he has ever had. He always looks like he knows he is 5 seconds from being killed yet he always goes along with what ever Dr. Honeydew does. Love it. Always great for a laugh.

@NORMNB8S: I answered earlier but I wanted to give an honorable mention to Sweetums. I guess you can answer twice. I’ve never said anything against it. Sweetums has been a supporting character to everyone on the main cast but he does have his following. People seem to love Sweetums. Maybe it’s because he is so big but at the same time so…well…sweet!

@ZamboniNerd: Statler and Waldorf because they always make me laugh with their sarcastic comments. The perfect opposition to Fozzy Bear and the rest of the Muppets from time to time are the worst hecklers in the world. Stand up comedians have always had hecklers and whomever came up with this duo is genius. It’s amazing how long they’ve stayed as a major part of the show considering that they aren’t technically part of the Muppets crew.

@Beccaberry73: Gotta be Statler & Waldorf 🙂 LOVE their jokes! I’m surprised by how many people love these guys! Just goes to show that they are a big part of who the Muppets are!

Thanks to everyone who talked Muppets with me all day! It was a great time and it’s only building excitement for the upcoming Muppets show on ABC this Fall! If you are excited or you didn’t get to share on Twitter who your favorite Muppet is, be sure to leave a comment below! If you are interested in participating in Tweets From Tuesday, be sure to follow me by clicking the link below my name. See ya next week!

In honor of Valentine’s Day, Josh and Keith got together to discuss the best Disney couples. They talk about why these couples work and bring their traits into real world situations. Pixar, Disney, ABC, Muppets. Nothing is off limits here. Enjoy this V-Day special!

I will never stop watching Once Upon a Time, well, not until it comes to an end. Wait, it’s going to end? No! No! It can’t end, why would you tell me that!? ANYWAY I can look past some things when it comes to watching tv and noticing errors in continuity, small plot holes, or bad CG effects, but what really puzzled me in this week’s episode was seeing Cruella De Vil, and here’s why:

5. Since when are Dalmatians her minions? – Maybe I interpreted the scene wrong, but Belle totally gets lured into the woods by this Dalmatian pup. He comes up to her, acts all cute and stuff, then runs off, and she follows, because, hey, cute puppy love, am I right? That makes it seem like the plan all along, because the second she gets into the woods, she is captured by someone, who we later find out is a team of 3 villains, including Cruella, which makes sense because her movie is the only one with Dalmatians. But, it’s hard for me to think of puppies as evil, so let’s all just tell ourselves he just got wrapped up in the wrong crowd and it wasn’t his fault.

4. She would never wear that outfit and subject it to those conditions – Cruella cares about one thing and one thing only – fashion. At least that’s the whole plot behind 101 Dalmatians. So, it was just weird to me to see her voluntarily wearing a full length fur coat in the middle of the forest, and basically in a cave. At least the other villains have magic and/or live in the ocean, therefore can kind of just clean up at the drop of a hat. Cruella would have to take that pure white bundle of animal cruelty to the dry cleaners, and I just have a sneaking suspicion you wont be finding a dry cleaners in the Enchanted Forest.

3. Why would Ursula and Maleficent team up with her? – Think about it, what can Cruella even do? Yeah she’s super evil, I mean, she is willing to KILL puppies, but beyond that she’s useless. She gets 2 guys to do all of the work in the movie she is originally from, so she can’t even lure a sweet puppy into her grasps, and on top of that, she doesn’t have the ONE thing ALL of the other villains in the Enchanted Forest, Oz, and Arendale have – magic. Seriously, what use do these other 2 villains have for her, she’s worthless!

2. The Actor who played her was too attractive, or something – Ok, so other well known and beloved characters in Once Upon A Time have strayed from the look we know them for, but with Cruella they pretty much try to make her look almost exactly like the animated version of the villain from 101 Dalmatians. The problem isn’t so much that the actress isn’t a 6’4″ hag who weighs 83 pounds, but more that, well, she kind of looks to me like someone who is doing a pretty excellent job cosplaying, but isn’t quite a believable version of the character. Even the face characters in the parks are better than what I saw in this episode, and maybe it’s just me, but the fact that I even thought this at all means they did something wrong, because it just wasn’t on point enough.

1. Cruella isn’t from the Enchanted Forest so why and how is she there – Isn’t Cruella De Vil CLEARLY from our world – i.e. London, i.e. obviously NOT the Enchanted Forest. So, why is she there, how did she get there, what the heck!? It just didn’t make any sense. I usually don’t nit-pick over plot holes, but this one was just kind of stupid. Hopefully they explain it somehow in an upcoming episode, but for now it stands to be non-sensicle. I mean, are there even really puppies in the Enchanted Forest, because, for someone who lives, sleeps, and eats to skin animals and make coats, it doesn’t seem like she would be too keen on residing in a land that doesn’t seem to have an abundance of those commodities.

Of course, I’m just trying to be humorous with my article, and I love Once Upon A Time no matter what, but what do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments below please!

Josh and Keith are back to talk about their favorite show! Once Upon a Time’s third season is now in the books. So what did the guys think of the season? What about the tragic romance of the Evil Queen and Robin Hood? Frozen? Hook and Emma? Save Henry? Find out their thoughts and more in this episode of Modern Mouse Radio!

Season 3 of Once Upon a Time starts this weekend (Sept. 29th, 2013) and I’m really excited to see some of my favorite characters back on my television screen again. Over the summer, we’ve gotten excited about new characters like Tinkerbell and Ariel, or our main cast taking the voyage into the uncharted Neverland. However, I have to point out that there are several characters that have backstories (or present day stories) that we either haven’t really heard or that we haven’t fully explored. For myself, that is the most exciting part of what we may see in Season 3. Yes, I’m excited about pirates and mermaids and everything, but what about some of the characters we’ve seen in previous seasons that still have mysteries about them? Will we get the resolutions we need? Who knows, but season 3 definitely gives us promise! So here are my top 5 Once Upon a Time characters to watch this season.

#5-Tiny. The last of the giants is still living in human size form and is among the people being left behind in Storybrooke. He brought hope to a town full of fairy tale characters last season. What can he contribute this year? Will he even play an important role this season? I’d like to hope so! His story isn’t nearly finished and I feel like he is more useful in Storybrooke than we have been led to believe. I think he steps up and really shines as a big character this season. (That wasn’t intended to be a giant joke.)

#4-Ariel and Prince Eric. Through a sneak peek video we know that Ariel and Eric will be joining the cast from Season 3. The interesting part is that Ariel appears in Storybrooke, not in Neverland with all of the other mermaids. How did she get there? Was it just a teaser? What will her character bring to the overall story arch of bringing Henry back to his family? Does she have a past with Hook and Neverland? How will her Prince Eric be introduced? There is nothing we can confirm yet about Ariel or Prince Eric and that is exciting because we will have to just wait in anticipation for her debut.

#3-Dr. Whale/Frankenstein. From Season 1 to Season 2, one of the biggest mysteries was who Dr. Whale could possibly be. Now we know that the former Dr. Frankenstein has somehow found his way out of the Gothic Literature World (Is that where he is from?) and made his way into Storybrooke with everyone else from the Enchanted Forest thanks to Rumplestiltskin and The Hatter. Now that we got that resolution, what next for the drunk, womanizing doctor? Will he find his way back to Igor and his old mansion? Dr. Whale is a character I wish they would focus on more but I know I won’t get to see as much of him as I really want.

#2-Owen/Greg. The early days of Storybrooke saw a man and his son become the only visitors to stay at Granny’s hotel and the last visitors until Emma makes her way into town. The man was buried in the woods but the boy has come back to seek revenge on his father. We understand that Owen (and Tamara) is working for a higher power, probably, Pan’s shadow. and that they have kidnapped Henry for him, but Owen (or Greg) still had a life between his first and second visit to the town in Maine. What happened to him and who did he live with? How did he know he could find Storybrooke after the curse was broken or did he? I feel as though some of these questions will be answered but not all of them. Regardless, I’m excited to get to know Ethan Embry’s vengeful character in Season 3.

#1-Leroy/Dreamy/Grumpy. The former Dreamy has been a substantially fun character to get to know since the first season of the show. Lee Arenberg has been a great character actor in this role. He has taken one cranky dwarf and given him dimension and a lovable personality. The progression of Grumpy has been one of the best minor storylines and has been a treat to see. I don’t know what will happen to the character but regardless, I’m sure it will be fun to watch. I have to tip my hat off to Lee Arenberg for being one of the best actors on the show!

What are your thoughts on the upcoming season? Be sure to listen to our preview of Season 3 on the Modern Mouse Radio podcast RIGHT HERE and share your thoughts throughout the season with me over twitter!